


Tender Loving

by XCastielsTrenchcoat



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Comedy, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Smut, Love/Hate, M/M, Romance, Slash, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 04:31:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11478654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XCastielsTrenchcoat/pseuds/XCastielsTrenchcoat
Summary: "Dean Winchester is many things. He is an ass. He is a juvenile man. He is rude, obnoxious, loud, disrespectful and the list goes on and on. Castiel had been living in his house as soon as he finished College, and that was two years ago. Dean has been living in the house next to him for four months and already he had Castiel pulling his hair out."But suddenly Dean gets a change of heart. Should Castiel trust this man and accept his advances? Or is this all just a game for Dean Winchester





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm back! I did publish this story before, but then I took it down, as I was taking a little break. But worry not! I am back and I am filled with new ideas! So please please please enjoy! Leave a comment about what you liked! 
> 
>  
> 
> ****  
> _If you have Wattpad, Please follow me! Same Username and everything. I have a lot of boyxboy novels on there and I would really appreciate the same support you guys have given me with my previous fan fiction. You guys are absolutely amazing and fuel my writing. So please, if you have time, look me up on Wattpad. Maybe follow me too? And check out my other works!_  
>   
> 
> Again, I really hope you enjoy!

**Prologue**

 

…

 

~Castiel~

Dean Winchester is many things. He is an ass. He is a juvenile man. He is rude, obnoxious, loud, disrespectful and the list goes on and on. Castiel had been living in his house as soon as he finished College, and that was two years ago. Dean has been living in the house next to him for four months and already he had Castiel pulling his hair out.

Castiel hated Dean with a _passion_. He would always have these parties that lasted to the early hours of the morning and when Dean’s driveway got too full, his guests would park in Castiel’s driveway. His front lawn would always be littered with beer bottles and cans and Dean sure as hell wasn’t going to clean it up, so Castiel alway had to, grumbling all the way before work.

That was exactly what happened one Sunday morning.

Castiel was walking around his lawn with a small green recycling bin and picking up the beer cans and bottles from Dean’s party the night before. The party lasted till four in the freaking morning and Castiel didn’t get one wink of sleep.

“Good morning, sunshine,” the deep voice of Dean Winchester filled the frosty morning and Castiel gritted his teeth. “You look like absolute crap.”

Castiel closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and continued cleaning the front of his lawn, ignoring how freezing his toes were due to the frosty grass and ignoring Dean.

“Aw, c’mon,” Dean teased, leaning against Castiel’s mailbox. “Where’s the bite? Or the smart remark?”

Castiel straightened himself up and turned towards Dean, eyes wild. “Shut up, Dean. I’m cleaning _your mess_. I didn’t get any sleep last night, thanks to you, so shut up and mess with someone else.”

“But Cas, you’re my favorite person to mess with!”

“Fuck you, Dean,” Castiel hissed as Dean threw another beer can that he was drinking onto Castiel's lawn, “And don’t call me ‘Cas’. Only my friends call me Cas. _You_ call me Castiel, get it asshat?”

“You have friends, Cas? Are they the type of friends that shove their dicks up your ass? If so, I have a lot of those too.”

“Why don’t you just leave me alone and shove _your_ dick up someone’s ass, okay?” Cas grumbled, continuing to pick up all the litter on his lawn.

“I always knew you wanted me,” Dean smiled sweetly but said, “hate ya, Cas.” And he wiggled his fingers in ‘goodbye’.

“Ditto,” Castiel said.

Dean flipped Castiel off and walked back into his house to do god knows what. Dean was right about one thing, Castiel didn’t have any friends. Like at all. He was nice to people, sure, but he never really opened up to anyone. His mother always said he was anti-social, but Castiel only thought he was protecting himself. Sure, he may be lonely, but he wasn’t getting hurt, so that’s all what mattered to Cas.

Castiel made his way back to his house and slipped his boots off and walked into his warm home and went to the kitchen to make himself a warm cup of tea.

Winter was Castiel’s favorite season as he could just stay in and read by the fire but most of all… he could dress in layers. Even though Castiel had muscles, he hated wearing things that hinted that he even had any. Castiel loved just shutting himself indoors in the company of himself and his books. 

The weather forecast said that it should start snowing and Cas was counting on it. Excessive snow= no work. No work= NetFlix and books. 

Castiel sighed in content as he looked out of the kitchen window, then he stopped his stirring and if this were a cartoon, there would’ve been smoke coming out of his ears. All over his back lawn was twice as much bottles and cans as out the front and Castiel had hold back from screaming curses at Dean.

Shoving on his tan trench coat, he trudged outside with a container and picked up all of the mess, but this time he wasn’t going to keep it.

Castiel marched up Dean’s footpath till he was in front of Dean’s door and banged twice, waiting impatiently for Dean. He was tapping his foot impatiently for the blonde man to hurry up and answer. Castiel thought he would never answer, until the door opened to Dean standing there. Naked. He seemed to be completely unaffected by the cold of the winter.

“What hell do you want?” The green eyed man hissed. “I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

Castiel peered over Dean’s shoulder, expecting to see a woman, but instead finding a very attractive naked man lying down on Dean’s couch. He caught Castiel’s gaze and winked. He could feel his cheeks warm up as the man smiled at him and bit his bottom lip seductively. Castiel felt the familiar want travel down to his cock and he found himself biting his bottom lip along with the other man.

Dean followed Castiel’s gaze and frowned, closing the door a little so that all Castiel could see was Dean’s naked body. Castiel kept his eyes trained on Dean’s face though, even though Dean’s… size was impressive.

Castiel shoved the box of bottles and cans into Dean’s chest. “You left _these_ in my back lawn.” And he stormed off back to his house, feeling Dean’s eyes on him the whole way back to his house. 

The man on Dean's couch was pretty attractive and Castiel considered maybe going back and giving the man his number. That was until Cas accidentally looked out his living room window and saw Dean fucking the man roughly from behind and the sight was something Cas had never seen before. The man had his head thrown back and his eyes were squeezed shut and mouth half open. Dean's bottom lip was between his teeth as he pounded ruthlessly into the man.

Castiel couldn't tear his eyes from the both of them. The things that bothered Cas was that he wasn't staring at the man like he thought he would, he was staring directly at Dean. And the frown that formed upon his brows in concentration as his hips met the man's in every deep thrust, his toned abs tensing every time he _pounded_ into the man. That still wasn't what was bothering him. What bothering him the most was the fact that Cas imagined himself if the man's place, getting taken from behind by Dean. He imagined Dean, fingers digging into Cas’ hips, taking Cas closer and closer to the edge.

It was somehow as if he could feel Cas looking at him because Dean looked up from behind the man, catching Cas watching and his plump and round lips stretched into a smirk. Dean pounded even harder into the man and Cas saw the man press himself harder into the couch as his mouth widened in a moan, all while not taking his eyes off of Cas.

Cas gasped and pressed his back up against the wall next to the window. Dean saw him. Dean freaking _saw_ him and he _smirked?_ Dean was definitely not going to let this one slide so easily. But Cas had a solution. That night it was supposed to snow a lot so Cas wouldn't need to need to go out so Cas wouldn't need to get out of his house and see Dean. Problem solved.

He looked down at his throbbing erection. _One thing I do know_ , Cas thought, _is that I need a cold shower. Or a cold bath with ice. Either one. Maybe I should just walk outside naked._

 

…

 

Castiel was doing his usual lock up before bed. Making sure all the curtains were closed and the front door locked. Made sure there were enough woods in the fire and enough woods in the basket next to the fire. When Castiel dared a glance into Dean’s window, the lights were strangely off. Usually at eleven at night, Dean would have his lights on and was _at the very least_ watching television. But no, none of the lights in his house were on.

There was no point in thinking about it. It was a good thing that Dean wasn’t at his window, wasn’t it? It made sure that Dean wouldn’t be able to tease Cas. Truth be told, he didn’t know why he didn’t look away. He wanted to, he really did. He felt ill in the stomach watching… but he just couldn’t.

Castiel was about to ascend the stairs to his bedroom when there was a knock on the door. Who the hell was knocking at that time of night? Especially when it had started to snow at an alarming rate. The knocking persisted. 

“Okay! Hold on,” Cas grumbled, unlocking the door. It took Cas a moment to identify the knocker due to the dark but once he did, he was very tempted to slam the door in their face.

“Don’t look too happy to see me,” Dean laughed at Cas’ disgusted expression.

“What are you doing here, Dean?”

Dean shrugged and took a step inside. Cas rolled his eyes and shut the door because the cold was starting to get inside and turned to Dean with his arms crossed over his bare chest. He usually slept in his underwear.

“Was just curious,” Dean said.

“Curious about what?”

Dean turned to face Castiel with a sly smirk on his face. “Whether or not you enjoyed that little show before.”

“You’re disgusting,” Cas spat.

“Oh, c’mon Cas,” Dean said, pulling Cas close by his hips. Castiel’s breath hitched in his throat. Dean leant down so that their noses were almost touching. “You know you liked watching me fuck that man, didn’t you? You liked me pounding him from behind, huh? You wished it was you, didn’t you?”

Castiel regained himself and pushed Dean away. “Get out of my house,” he hissed.

Dean held up both hands in defense, laughing all the way to the door. “If you wanted to fuck me, you just need to ask. I’d do you gladly.”

“ _Out!_ ”

Dean went to open the door but quickly shut it just as fast as he had opened it.

“What’s wrong?” Cas asked.

“I can’t leave,” Dean replied annoyed.

“What? Why the hell not?”

Dean merely just pointed out the window and Castiel immediately knew why the hell Dean couldn’t leave his house. Already, there were inches of snow and if Dean were to leave, Cas would spend a _long_ time trying to clean up the snow that would make it’s way into his house if Dean were to open the door fully.

“Well,” Dean said, that stupid smirk on his face again, “two non straight male’s alone in a house. What can we possibly do.”

Cas rolled his eyes. “I’m going to bed.”

“That’s what I’m talking about.”

“No, you’re staying here on the couch.”

Dean pouted and Cas’ eyes immediately dropped down to Dean’s lips. Dean noticed and dashed his pink tongue out to run along his bottom lip.

“Don’t you have a spare room?” Dean asked.

“I do, but you’re staying on the couch. Don’t worry, the blanket is warm and you’re by the fire. You can find the kitchen and the bathroom.”

“But-”

“Couch,” Cas repeated as he was walking up the stairs to his own bedroom.

You could say that Cas had grown accustomed to living alone. Sure, he did feel lonely sometimes, but in a way, it was to protect himself from people like Dean. Cas wasn’t going to lie that he honestly considered sleeping with Dean as it had been a long time since he had been with another man, but it was _Dean._

He did feel bad for leaving Dean alone in the living room, but honestly, it was his fault for coming to Castiel’s house almost to the middle of the night in the freaking snow. Did Dean honestly go all the way there to tease Cas? Dean was a douche.

 

 

Little did Cas know… all of that was about to change.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy this chapter! Please comment me your thoughts!

**Chapter One**

 

Castiel hadn’t seen Dean since that Sunday. Dean had left before Castiel had gotten up and surprisingly, he folded the blanket he was using and straightened the pillows. It was a Wednesday. Castiel hadn’t seen him even check his mailbox and he saw the newspapers start to pile in front of Dean’s door. Despite everything that Dean had done to him, Castiel was really starting to worry.

“Hey, George!” Cas called out to his neighbour that was jogging that cold Wednesday morning.

“Oh, hey, Cas! What’s up?” George jogged up to Cas. “Off to work I see?”

“Yeah, I am. Just wondering… do you know what happened to Dean?”

George frowned at Cas. “You didn’t hear?” 

Cas shook his head.

“Well, Dean’s father just passed Sunday night.”

Castiel froze as he tried to process the information. George just left him to let it sink in. Well, that did explain a lot and Castiel felt immediately terrible. It seemed that every single time he’d call Dean a bad name and said something mean caught up to him and he wished he could take every last one of them back.

Castiel looked sadly at Dean’s house, hoping to see any sign of Dean inside, but sadly the house remained to feel as if no one lived in there. Cas wasn’t going to admit that he slightly missed Dean. His green eyes that always had that mischievous glint in them, those pink plump lips that only existed in dreams. 

Castiel brushed away a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach and made his way to the library. That day was Castiel’s favorite type of day. Where it was freezing but the sun was out and glistened off of the snow, giving the streets of his small town a look of a winter wonderland.

He loved his small town, where everyone knew everyone and there wasn’t really a secret that the whole town won’t eventually know. Everyone was kind and helped each other out. 

Seemed like that day, everyone was talking about Dean. 

“Carol, did you hear about Dean Winchester's father, John?” Castiel overheard a conversation between the two oldest ladies in their small town who were reading at one of the many tables in the public library.

“Oh yes I did. Poor Dean,” Bridget replied. “Apparently he hasn’t left his house since he was last seen leaving old Novak’s son’s place.”

Castiel tensed when he heard that.

“What’s his name, Castiel, right?” 

“Yeah,” Bridget replied. “I doubt their dating though. The pair are always at each other's throats. It’s a shame, really. Castiel would be a good man for Dean.”

Castiel frowned and carried on with stacking his books. Dean with himself? It was really hard to believe. Castiel tried to picture it and all he saw was him with Dean but then Dean starting to see someone else. It’s just that with the time Cas had known Dean, he had never seen him in a serious relationship.

That bothered him for the rest of the day, he couldn’t stop thinking about Dean, and that annoyed him. It was the small things. When he saw the cover of a book he’d think _Oh, Dean’s eyes are that color_ , then he’d mentally slap himself and tell him to stop thinking about him until the next small thing came around.

 _I should talk to Dean_ , Cas thought, _Nah, that’d be weird. I should get him something._ He sighed, he was thinking way too much into this. He should just leave Dean alone, that’s probably what he wants anyways. Even though Cas had only met Dean four months ago, he knew that Dean wasn’t one to show his feelings very openly and keeps things to himself.

He had stopped at a flower store on the way home. He knew he did say he was going to leave Dean alone, but Cas felt like he should just do something. Flowers were a good way to express your sympathies, wasn’t it? Castiel wasn’t sure, he was never really ever in a position where he had to express his sympathies… but that’s what they did in books.

Dean’s house felt… empty, although, Cas knew Dean was inside. There hadn’t been a party since Sunday and there hadn’t been a random lady or man that came to his house only to leave about two hours later. It was as if Dean just… left.

Drawing in a deep breath, Cas walked up Dean’s concrete steps and knocked on the door. Cas’ breaths came out in small puffs as he tried to calm his nerves. _It’s okay, Cas_ , he thought, _You’re just gonna give the guy you’ve been having sexual fantasies about for three days now flowers because his father had passed… God, that sounded creepy_. He was too busy having a conversation in his head to noticed the sound of a small chain rattle on the other side of the door until it opened, a red eyed and nosed Dean standing in the doorway. 

Dean looked like crap. His hair wasn’t styled like it usually was and he had bags under his red rimmed eyes. He was unshaven and had sweatpants on with a sweater.

“Cas?” he asked, surprised and Castiel didn’t even bother correcting him.

Cas awkwardly held out the flowers in his hand. “I heard what happened and I uh… I got these for you.”

Dean looked down at the flowers and then back up at Cas. “I appreciate it, Cas,” he began, “but I’ll be f-”

“Just take the damn flowers, Winchester.”

Despite everything, Castiel saw him smile a little as he took the flowers from his hands and looked sadly at them. He didn’t actually think he’d get that far, so Cas was left standing there awkwardly as Dean considered him for a moment before Dean drew Cas in for a very unexpected hug.

“Thank you, Cas,” Dean whispered. That was when Cas realized _no one had come to Dean_. No one had come to express their condolences or anything. Only he had, the person that Cas thought Dean hated the most. All those ‘friends’ that came any other day when there were parties on didn’t come to comfort Dean and that was also when he realized… Cas may not be the only lonely one.

When Dean released Cas, he noticed that his eyes were still watery. Castiel awkwardly patted Dean’s arm and turned to go back to his own house. 

“Cas?” Dean called out when he was near his mailbox.

He spun to face Dean. “Yeah?”

“I’m uh… I’m sorry for being a… dick, and everything.”

Castiel was stunned for a moment, then he thought that it would probably be a good idea if he answered.

“It’s okay, Dean. It’s also my fault too.”

Dean frowned for a moment before nodding and turning back to his house.

Once Cas got to his own house, it took him moment to process what actually happened. Dean had hugged him. And his arms were so _strong_. It had left Cas’ heart fluttering and that was a brand new feeling to Cas. Wasn’t he supposed to hate Dean? It was very hard to, now that he’s seen Dean without that whole douchey exterior and underneath it all… Dean was actually pretty sweet.


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Hello people!! Here is another chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this! And please comment as it motivates me to write and I can't write if I'm not motivated XD. Again, please enjoy this chapter!**

**_Chapter 2_ **

 

Castiel didn’t even realize how fast Christmas was coming and already majority of the houses and shops in the small town had their decorations up. Castiel wasn’t really too big on Christmas since he really didn’t have much people to celebrate it with, but since his brothers said that he was holding the Christmas party that year, that actually meant that he had to decorate his house.

He had to admit though, it would be nice to not spend that Christmas alone. His brothers had moved out of the town as soon as they could, whereas Cas didn’t want to live anywhere else. That town is where Cas grew up, had his first kiss, had his first heartbreak… lost his virginity. Too many memories to leave behind. He liked it there. It seemed like the whole town was sheltered from the corruption of the outside world and that’s probably what Castiel loved so much about it.

Saturday came around faster than expected, but Castiel didn’t spend it reading like he usually would, instead he spent it buying Christmas decorations and looking around his neighborhood, he had to make it up to expectation. So that meant a lot of lights. Lucky he didn’t have to buy and put down fake snow, that would be pain to clean up.

Castiel wrestled with his ladder as he took it out of his garage and struggled with it to the side of his house where he was planning to put around his house.

“C’mon,” Cas hissed, trying to pry open the ladder. It had been a while since he had used it.

“You need a hand there?” Said a familiar amused voice. Castiel froze then turned around and sure enough, Dean was leaning against the fence watching him struggle in amusement.

Cas brushed his hair away from his forehead. “I’ve got it,” Cas lied through his teeth.

“No you don’t,” Dean laughed as he moved his body over the fence in one solid movement. “Why don’t you let me give you a hand?”

Cas shrugged and moved away from the ladder. “If you insist.”

This was the first time Castiel had actually seen Dean outside of his house and it was good to see that he had tidied himself up. He styled his hair up again and had shaved the unclean stubble that had formed. Cas looked up into Dean’s kitchen window and saw the flowers he had given Dean in a vase on the windowsill, even though they were dying, they were still there. The gesture made Cas almost smile.

Turning back to Dean, he watched Dean with interest as he expertly opened up the ladder and stomped to the highest step then turned to face Cas and caught him staring. Dean smirked at him but said nothing. “Can I have the lights?”

Cas made a noise of surprise and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? I just needed help with the ladder.”

Dean shrugged. “Yeah, well, I’ve got nothing better to do.”

“Alright…” and Cas handed him the lights.

“So, tell me Castiel,” Dean said as he hung up the decorations, “what’s Christmas like in this small town?”

“It’s beautiful. On the night before Christmas eve, there’s this winter dance that happens outside the small temple in town square.”

“Have you ever been?”

“Only when I was younger,” Castiel replied. He was watching Dean’s hands work on the decorations, like he had done it plenty of times. Castiel let out a shaky laugh. “I’ve never really had anyone to go with these days.”

Castiel looked up at Dean and saw that he opened his mouth to say something, but then seemed like he thought otherwise. He continued to hang up the decorations, his brow now furrowed. Castiel scolded himself, for nothing in particular. Probably for making the two of them silent and uncomfortable. He was never really good at keeping up a conversation with another person, especially when he wanted to choke that person not one week ago.

Soon enough, Dean was finished.

“There you go,” Dean said, stepping down from the ladder and wiping his hands on his jeans. “Not too shabby.” Castiel agreed. His house had actually started to look like one that celebrated Christmas.

“Thank you, Dean,” Castiel said. “What are you doing for Christmas?

It was like Dean just froze and Castiel wanted to punch himself in the face for even opening his mouth in the first place. 

“Dean, I-... I’m so-” Cas stuttered, trying to apologize.

Dean only smiled kindly at Cas and laughed a little. “Cas, it’s okay. I don’t plan on doing anything for Christmas. The only family left is my little brother, Sammy, and he’s at school. He’s gonna be a lawyer some day.” Dean said proudly.

Castiel was so confused. What Dean said made complete sense… but it was the fact that Dean said that. No sexual advances and no smart remark. Just straight to the point and Cas found it very hard to remember Dean as the douchebag that would sleep around and party and annoy Cas beyond measure, but the man standing in front of him seemed so calm and he had his guard down, like he trusted Cas. Which was just as strange because Castiel wasn’t exactly the nicest person to Dean either.

“Hey, look Cas,” Dean took a step towards Cas and his breathing stopped for a second. “I- I’m so sorry for how I’ve treated you these past few months, I just want you to know that’s not who I really am.”

Cas tilted his head. “Why are you apologizing to me? Why now?”

Dean scratched the back of his head and let out a breathy laugh. “It might sound real cheesy, but, I guess it’s ‘cause my father’s death made me realize something. I was on the path to becoming like him and _nobody_ liked him. They all thought he was a drunk that never grew up and I guess that I didn’t want to be like him. And I treated you the worst, so for that, I’m sorry.”

Dean really looked beautiful standing there, the sun glinting off the green in his eyes. Castiel could understand how hard it would’ve been for Dean to say something that personal; he could see how much Dean was struggling to get the words out.

“If it makes you feel any better, my father left when I was younger,” Cas shrugged. “There you go. I shared personal information, too.”

Dean laughed. “Y’know, Cas? You aren’t that bad.”

“Thanks? I think?”

“Don’t worry, that’s a good thing.” Dean said, smiling.

They both stood there, smiling at each other until Dean cleared his throat and slapped both his hands on his thighs. “Well, that’s my job done.” He nodded at Cas. “Have a good day, Castiel.”

Dean turned to leave and Castiel couldn’t stop what happened next.

“Dean, wait!” Cas called out and Dean stopped to turn and look at Cas. He gulped and shoved his cold hands into his pockets of his jacket. “I was uh… wondering you wanted to spend Christmas at my place? You don’t have to if you don’t want to but no one should be alone for Christmas-”

“Cas-” Dean said, trying to stop Cas’ rambling.

“-and I definitely know what-”

“ _Cas-_ ”

“-it feels like to be-”

“ _Castiel!_ ” Dean said, laughing slightly.

“Oh, sorry what?” Cas asked, dumbfounded.

“I would love to spend Christmas at your place,” Dean said, placing a hand on Cas’ shoulder and he swore his handprint seared itself into his arm. “I just hope I won’t be a burden…”

_Damn_ , Castiel thought. _He is so freaking polite!_

“Oh, please,” Cas said aloud, “it’s just ‘gonna be my three other brothers here.”

Dean’s smile widened. “It’s a date- plan! I meant it’s a plan!”

Castiel blushed, his cheeks warming against the cold, and nodded enthusiastically. Dean waved before he made his way to his house, looking over his shoulder at Cas one more time. When he was gone, Cas felt like he could breath again. He had never even began to imagine that Dean had a side like that. It was like he was talking to a totally different person, it was actually quite refreshing knowing that his neighbor wasn’t actually a major dick. What Cas forgot to ask Dean was why he treated Cas the worse? He did state that he treated Cas the worse, but why? Last time Cas checked, he did nothing to Dean. Was it because he was an easy target? Because if so, that was the story for his whole life, especially in high school.

Castiel walked back into his house with a goofy smile on his face. Did he really just invite Dean Winchester to have Christmas at his house? Castiel honestly thought that a man as popular as him would have a big party at his own house. Never once did he imagine that he would get this warm feeling from Dean where just the other week he did his best to avoid him, but now, he was actually looking forward to seeing Dean again. Only when he’s in that nice mood though.

Two weeks. Two more weeks till Christmas. For the first time in a while, Castiel wished Christmas would hurry up.

 

…

 

The fire crackled as Cas read his favorite book, _The Da Vinci Code_ , by Dan Brown, wrapped up in a wool blanket and a cup of tea in hand. That was how Cas usually spent his Saturdays, and he was quite content with it. He could escape reality on his own without any interruptions.

He turned a page and downed the rest of his tea. Then there was a knock on the door. _Seriously?_ Castiel thought as he stood up from the couch. _Can’t a man just read a book and enjoy a Satu-_ his thoughts stopped cold when he saw none other than Dean Winchester standing on his door step, wearing the same jacket and jeans he was wearing earlier on that day but had a bottle of wine in one hand.

“Dean?” Cas asked, surprised. 

He smiled awkwardly and held up the wine bottle. “Yeah, I uh, I found this old bottle of wine and had no one to share it with, so I thought I may as well come over here and see if you wanted to share it with me?”

Castiel raised an eyebrow. “The famous Dean Winchester having no one to share a bottle of _wine_ with? I find that hard to believe. What about your friends?”

Dean shivered and Castiel remembered that there was a snowstorm expected that night, so Cas opened the door wider to let Dean in. 

“They’re not really… friends,” Dean said, “more like people that like to come to my parties. I wouldn’t trust any one of them with my life.”

“Well, make yourself at home. If anything goes good with wine, it’s cheese and crackers with a bit of salami.”

Dean smirked. “Fancy.”

Cas hummed a response. “You’re getting the five star treatment here, Winchester.”

“Nice place you got here. I forgot to mention that last time I was here,” Dean yelled from the living room.”

“It’s nothing special. Just very cozy,” Cas replied as he moved back and forth in the kitchen, gathering all the food he needed and putting them onto a tray.

Cas didn’t notice Dean had come to the kitchen until he turned and saw him leaning against the island, watching Castiel with an interested look on his face.

“You forgot the wine,” he said simply, holding out the bottle.

Castiel averted his eyes from Dean’s and took the wine. “Hah, sorry, of course,” he rushed as he grabbed two wine glasses from the cabinet and put them on the tray and rushed pass Dean, who was still watching Cas intently. It was very nerve wracking.

Dean followed Cas into the living room and they both took a seat on the couch. Dean popped open the bottle and poured them both a glass of the deep red liquid. Cas didn’t want to say how much of lightweight he was when it came to drinking, that’s why he never really drank, but one glass of wine wouldn’t hurt.

Cas thought it was the right time to ask him the question that was on his mind since earlier on that day. 

“Dean?” Cas asked.

“Hmm?”

“You said before that you treated me the worst. Why? What did I do to you that made you treat me so bad?”

Dean slowly put his glass down and Cas immediately regretted asking that in the first place, but Dean seemed calm enough and ready to answer, so Cas waited for an answer.

“It’s quite embarrassing,” Dean said, adding a little laugh. Cas waited expectantly. “Okay, well, at first I didn’t know what it was. Maybe because you were so… different. You always kept to yourself and never bothered anyone. You were really quiet. And then I had that first party and your lawn got trashed and I just found it really… arousing when you got mad. But then, I realized that you genuinely hated me, and that was kind of new for me. You weren’t afraid to show that you hated me whereas everyone else, if they hated me, they never showed it to my face.”

“Oh,” Castiel said, taking another big gulp of his wine, his senses already starting to feel a little tingly. He found Cas getting angry _arousing?_ The very fact made Cas feel all giddy, and it was a totally new feeling to him.

“How old are you, Cas?” Dean asked randomly.

“Twenty seven. You?”

“Twenty eight,” Dean smirked and raised his glass, Cas mirroring his actions.

In no time, the bottle was empty and the both of them were laughing at nothing at all. At anything. They told stories of them growing up and their embarrassing stories that Cas hadn’t ever told a soul about. Until they were just lying on the couch, watching the dancing flames of the fire in the fireplace.

“Thank you, Cas,” Dean slurred, turning to face Cas.

“For what?” Cas said back, turning his head to face Dean and almost jumped at the close proximity of him, but was too lazy to move back.

“For being so nice to me,” he had lowered his voice. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

Castiel smiled and he saw Dean’s eyes drop down to Cas’ smile. “Because you were nice to me. That’s how things work, Dean.” Cas’ voice had dropped to a whisper towards the end of the sentence.

Dean smiled. “Why do you say my name like that?”

Cas cocked his head to the side and laughed. “Like what?”

“You say it like… I don’t know… Like your voice goes low and you say it like _‘Dean’_.” He tried to imitate Cas’ voice, but his voice just went really low and gruff.

“I don’t sound like that!”

“Yeah you do,” Dean smiled, looking down at Cas’ lips again.

When Dean started to lean forward, Cas did too, heart thudding with anticipation. Dean’s hand had found it’s way behind Cas’ neck and pulled them together till their lips finally met, slow at first, but when Cas drew in a sharp breath, Dean deepened the kiss, bringing Cas closer to him. It had been a while since he kissed someone and Dean’s lips were so soft and warm, making Cas melt like butter against him. Cas’ hands were running through Dean’s hair and slightly pulling at the shorter parts. Dean moaned against Cas’ lips as his desperate hands started to lift Cas’ shirt.

“Dean,” Cas gasped, placing his hands on Dean’s chest, “Dean wait.”

“Is everything okay?”

“You’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Yes, I do, Cas,” Dean groaned at Cas’ neck. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted you.”

“ _Dean_ ,” Cas insisted, pushing harder on Dean’s chest. “I’m not one to have meaningless sex, okay? If you’re serious about what you said, you can wait till you’re sober.”

“What does it matter?” Dean whined.

“It matters to _me_ , Dean,” Cas said.

Dean sighed and took his hands off of Cas. He immediately missed the warmth his hands provided but nodded. “You’re right, Cas. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. You just need to get some sleep, okay?”

It was as if the mention of sleep triggered Dean to be sleepy because his eyes suddenly became clouded over and he let out a massive yawn. Nodding, Dean started to lie down and Cas stood up, pulling the blanket over Dean and went to turn to go to his own bed, but Dean pulled Cas down with him and pulled the blanket over the both of them. Cas froze.

“Night, Cas,” Dean mumbled at Cas’ neck.

He couldn’t stop the smile that formed at his lips. “Good night, Dean.”


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ****  
> _Ah, yes, my second time posting today. Please, comment! I can't write if I'm not motivated >_< I would appreciate it greatly. Please enjoy! :D_  
> 

c h a p t e r 3

 

“Good morning, Castiel!” Bridget and Carol greeted Cas as he was walking to his work, his scarf wrapped tightly round his neck.

“Morning, ladies,” he replied.

“Was that Dean Winchester that we saw leaving your house _again_ yesterday morning, Castiel?”

Castiel’s eyes grew wide. “No- well, yes, but it’s not what you think. He just-”

“I told you, Carol!” Bridget scolded the other older lady with a smug look on her face. “Little Novak with the bad boy of the town. Who would’ve known!”

“N-no! It’s not like that, I swear!”

Carol gloated. “Look at that. The boy’s cheeks are as red as a tomato.”

“That tells us all we need to know,” Bridget agreed. “Oh, and Castiel, you’re brother, Michael, is coming into town to stay till Christmas.”

Castiel frowned. “But that’s not for another two weeks?”

Both the ladies shrugged. “Tell that to your brother.”

“Y’know? After all these years, I still don’t know how you ladies know all these things,” Castiel said, shaking his head.

Castiel was left wondering though, did anyone see them kiss? Cas didn’t know why he was making a big deal out of it. The whole town knew he was gay, but for some reason, Castiel didn’t know why he suddenly got defensive when Carol and Bridget suggested that they were together. Maybe because he didn’t want anyone deciding what type of person he was just by the type of people he was attracted to.

_Oh, God, I’m attracted to Dean_ Cas thought as he walked faster to the library. _That’s not a bad thing, right? I mean, a lot of people are attracted to other people all the time. It’s not a big deal._

Castiel thought back to the Sunday morning. Castiel had woke, still in Dean’s arms with only a slight headache. He remembered that he tried to move out of Dean’s arms, but Dean only hugged him tighter. It was very… cute. Dean was so cuddly, it was hard to believe that he was in fact the neighbor that Castiel had dreaded to see every morning.

The library was warm as always and smelt of paper and the fragrance that they had at the front desk. Not much people came, but when they did, they always greeted Cas, as Cas had grown up in the town library and everyone knew him. That was why when Castiel asked to work there, Miss. Hannigan didn’t think twice before giving Cas a job. Sadly, she passed a year before so it was just Cas working there now. But the solitude wasn’t exactly bad.

He unlocked the big old wooden double doors, hooking them back, and made his way inside the dark building, doing his normal morning routine, bringing the library to life. He turned on the lights then moved to turn on the computers. Once he finished, he leaned back to admire the beauty of the library. He remembered staying nights at the library since Miss. Hannigan would leave him a key. He would spend long night there till the nights would then turn to day. 

Castiel wasn’t a big believer in ghosts, but sometimes, he believed that Miss. Hannigan was there in spirit. He could feel it, but it wasn’t scary. It was quite comforting. She mothered him when his mother died and when she died, it was like he was losing another mother.

“Yo, Cassie!” A voice rang out from the entrance, and in came his 5’8 older brother, Gabriel. Gabriel lived in town like Cas, so did their other brother Lucifer. It was their older brother, Michael, that actually moved from the town and was now a big manager in the city.

“Hey, Gabe,” Cas greeted from behind the counter.

“Word on the street is that ol’ Dean Winchester had been spotted leaving your house not only once, but _twice,_ ” Gabriel said, leaning against the counter, “is there something you’re not telling me, lil’ bro?”

Cas groaned and facepalmed. Did the whole freaking town know about it? “It’s not like that.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “So, Dean Winchester enters your home, _twice_ , only to leave the next morning and _nothing_ happened.”

“Yes- well, we did kiss once, but he was drunk oh and another kiss in the morning before he left but it was more like a peck… But nothing happened the first night.”

Gabriel looked only amused as Cas grew flustered, trying to excuse why Dean was there. It wasn’t even Gabriel’s business. 

“Am I missing out on something?” said Cas’ other brother, Lucifer, as he came walking in.

“Did you hear about Dean and Cas?” Gabriel asked as Lucifer came to stand next to him.

Lucifer scoffed. “Who hasn’t? They’re the new talk of the town.”

“What?!” Cas bleated. “I thought Don’s affair with Cindy was the talk of the town!”

“Not any more. The town’s goody two shoes with the town's bad boy? Who wouldn’t be talking about it?” Lucifer smirked at Cas’ uncomfortableness. 

“Enough about me, please,” Cas sighed, running his hands up and down his face. “I’ve finished hanging up the decorations for Christmas.”

Crap. Christmas. Cas almost forgot that he had invited Dean over and then mentally growled himself. It wasn’t that Dean was coming over exactly, but the fact that his brothers were. He really should've thought over it before inviting him, but it was too late now. And besides, he actually wanted to see Dean again.

Lucifer probably noticed his worried expression because he suddenly became alert. “What is it, Cas?”

“I may or may not have invited Dean over for Christmas…” Cas said, resting his head in the palm of his hands.

“Oo,” Gabriel sang. “Do tell.”

“It’s not like _that!_ ” Cas insisted. “It’s just that his father passed and he had no one else to go with, so yeah, I invited him over.” Just the thought of seeing again made blood rush to his face.

“Aww,” Lucifer cooed. “Look’s like someone has a little crush.”

Castiel fumed at his brother. Christmas was going to be interesting.

 

…

 

**_~Dean~_ **

 

Castiel was nothing like he had ever known before. He was stubborn, quiet, and absolutely… intriguing. Dean just couldn’t get enough of him and was always looking forward to seeing him again. There was just something about Castiel that set him apart from the other people he saw. Maybe it was his blue eyes, contrasted shockingly against his black hair. Or his smile. The way he’d look at the ground when he smiled, as if he wanted to hide it from the rest of the world. Or maybe the very fact that Castiel didn’t put himself out there like everyone else did. There was so much.

The real reason why Dean used to treat Cas the worse was because he had spunk the first time they met, and Dean found that exciting. Nowadays for him, it was hard to find someone who would fight back. All the men and women he would pick on would fall at his feet and do anything he asked. It was good at first… but it kind of got boring. He loved getting a rise out of Cas. He did mean it when he said that he found it arousing, because he really did. The amount of times he’s had fantasies of having angry sex with Cas was too much to count.

Then his father died. That was like a wake up call for Dean. Not one of his so called ‘friends’ came to say how they sorry for his loss. He was alone until Cas came along with those stupidly cute flowers. It was like seeing Cas standing there with the flowers in his hand, actually showing that he cared made all the bad things he’s ever done to Cas flood back to his mind then he just felt guilty. He wasn’t going to end up like his dad, and thought apologizing to Cas was a start. And it was. He found out that Castiel was actually not a bad person, not that Dean ever thought he was.

When Castiel invited Dean over for Christmas, he really thought that he didn’t deserve accepting, but Castiel looked so hopeful, it was hard to say no. He really didn’t want to be a burden, though. Christmas was a time for family and friends and last Dean checked, he wasn’t exactly the nicest person to Cas.

But when he kissed Cas, oh it was different. He wanted to be gentle with Cas. He remembered every detail. The taste of wine on Cas’ tongue and lips and the way his fingers felt in his hair, it drove Dean insane how gentle Cas was with him. It was something new. All the people Dean had been were anything but gentle. He wanted more.

“Dean? Hello?” Sam said, his voice echoing through his phone.

Dean shook himself from his thoughts. “Oh, yeah, sorry Sammy. You were saying?”

“I was asking if I could come over for Christmas?”

“Actually Sammy, I’m doing something on Christmas,” Dean replied, smiling when he remembered how Cas stuttered when he asked Dean.

“Don’t tell me that you’re having a party, Dean,” Sam scolded.

“Of course not, Sammy. I got invited to a dinner, believe it or not. I’ll ask him if I could bring a plus one.”

“‘ _Him_ ’, huh? What is this guy’s name?” Dean could practically hear the smirk in Sam’s voice.

“Castiel,” Dean said, simply.

“Casti- isn’t that the guy that threw your mail onto your doorstep then you started cussing at him last time I was there?”

“Yep,” Dean replied cheerily.

“And he invited you over for a Christmas dinner? You need to fill me in on a lot of things,” Sam laughed. “Anyways, how you holding up?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Sam started, “with dad? Are you okay? You didn’t seem okay at the funeral.”

“I’m doing fine, Sammy. Don’t worry. And believe it or not, but Cas was the only one that came around with flowers.”

“He brought _flowers?_ And not one of your party friends came around?”

“Nope,” Dean said, popping the ‘p’.

“Ouch. Anyway’s I have to get going. Get back to me once you find out if I can go.”

“Sure thing, Sammy. Talk to you later.” And he hung up the phone.

Castiel worked at the library, so that’s exactly where Dean was going.

 

…

 

**_~Castiel~_ **

 

Cas was finishing the last few chapters of _The Da Vinci Code_ when someone rang the bell of the front desk. “The WiFi password is B00kW0rm! Capital B and W and the o’s are ze-” Castiel broke off when he saw Dean standing there with an amused look on his face. His chest suddenly squeezed and he quickly stood up, his book falling to the ground, losing his page. “Dean. Hi,” he said breathlessly.

“Hey, Cas,” Dean greeted, his green eyes twinkling. His mouth was stretched to the side in a smirk.

“What brings you here? Because I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that you’re not much of a reader.”

“Would you believe that I came here to see you?”

“No,” Cas answered honestly.

“Well, I did,” Dean replied, and Cas couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. “And also, I came to tell you that my brother is coming down from school to spend Christmas here...”

Castiel's heart sank. Maybe that was the reason he came. To tell Cas that he couldn’t make it to the dinner and Castiel would of have been looking forward to Christmas for noth-

“And I was wondering if he could come along to your place with me?” Dean finished and Castiel almost laughed with relief.

“Of course!” Cas breathed out. “Yeah! 

“Cool,” Dean replied, looking around the library. “So you work here, huh?”

“Yeah,” Cas said, scratching the back of his head, “nerdy, I know.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” Dean whispered, leaning closer to Cas over the counter. “Nerds moan the loudest.” He winked.

Castiel tried his best not to look affected, and he must say he did a pretty good job. He didn’t fall into a puddle at Dean’s feet, so that’s a plus. Cas smiled. “Dick,” he said, but that time, it was more playful and Dean smirked at Cas, catching his bottom lip in between his teeth as he looked down at Cas’ lips.

He considered pulling Dean in for a kiss to relieve some of the tension he felt. He loved how soft Dean’s lips were. The feeling was really addictive and Cas wondered if Dean actually wanted to kiss Cas now that he was sober, or if it was just because he was drunk. 

Thankfully, Dean seemed to be having the same idea, because he started to slowly lean forward, keeping his eyes on Cas’ ones.

But then the bell rang and Cas snapped his head towards whoever it was. Turns out, it was Lucifer.

“What?” Cas sighed at his brother.

Lucifer sent Cas a devilish smirk. “What’s the WiFi password?”


	5. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **_I just want to take a moment to thank you all. Especially you guys who have been with me since Hopelessly Hopeful. You all know who you are. Last night, I really needed motivation for writing, so I went through all of my comments and I almost cried. I'm not even kidding you guys. You are absolutely freaking amazing and I just want to dedicate this entire story to all of you. You all helped me finish my first ever story. Like ever. I've never completed one since I've always lost motivation, but you guys helped me finish my last one. So I would like to say a massive thank you to you all. Especially you all that are new. Welcome to the family! So this is all for you. This entire story is for you guys! So please... ENJOY!!!!_ **

**_Chapter 4_ **

 

One more week. That’s all that was left ‘til Christmas. One more week. Castiel still had no idea what he was going to make for Christmas eve and Michael wasn’t exactly helping, with him constantly reminding Cas that he really needed to do some groceries. Cas knew, but every time Michael would remind him, the less he wanted to do it, just to get on Michael’s nerves.

“Castiel, soon enough Christmas is going to come around and you’re going to be rushing to the store and most of your ingredients will be gone,” Michael scolded. He did have a point. “You may as well get them now.”

Castiel sighed and put his book down. He was now reading _The Lost Symbol_ , by Dan Brown. He went to get his tan trench coat and a scarf before slipping on his boots and making his way outside into the cold. There was still snow everywhere, but the sun was shining again. Castiel’s favorite type of weather. As Cas made his way down his steps, he blew warmth into his hand and rubbed them together before the cold had a chance to make them numb.

“Mornin’ Cas!” A deep and warm voice greeted him. Cas turned to see Dean taking out his trash.

The image of Dean pulling Castiel in for a kiss in front of the fire that one drunk night involuntarily made it’s way to front of Cas’ mind. Cas brushed it away and waved at Dean. “Good morning.”

Dean walked closer to Cas and soon enough he was standing directly in front of him, his warmth radiating off of him and the smile that he gave Cas was brighter than the winter sun over head. “I was wondering if I could make some pie for Christmas?”

Cas had to force his words out without stuttering. He wasn’t really _big_ on socializing. “Yeah,” he managed, “of course.”

“Awesome. Where you heading to?”

“Just going to get some groceries for Christmas. My brother, Michael, won’t leave me alone about it.”

Dean laughed, and the sound sent shivers down Cas’ spine. “Mind if I tag along?”

Dean and himself? Alone? For some reason the very thought set Castiels nerves on edge and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Cas still hadn’t gotten over that first kiss they had, regardless if it was drunk or not. Maybe because it was the best kiss in his entire life and Dean was an amazing kisser.

Either way, Cas wanted more but he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to or if Dean even wanted to actually kiss him. It made him wonder if it was the alcohol speaking when Dean said that he had been waiting to kiss him for a long time.

“If you want to,” Castiel replied.

So they both walked to town on the snow covered sidewalks, hands shoved in the pockets of their jackets awkwardly. Castiel could tell that Dean was holding back on something. Cas wondered if this whole being nice thing was new for Dean, since he said that he didn’t want to be like his dad. He seemed calm and it did look new on him, but Castiel didn’t want to make any assumptions. 

“My brother’s coming down from Stanford today,” Dean piped up as they entered the town square.

Castiel made a noise of surprise. “Your brother goes to Stanford? That’s actually really impressive.”

Dean laughed and kicked a frost covered stone. “Yeah, he’s the brains of the family. Dad wasn’t too enthusiastic about him leaving, though.”

“Why not?”

“Because he wanted one of us to carry on the family business of working at the mechanic shops back in Kansas,” Dean shrugged. “He wasn’t too happy when he found out that both his sons were queer, too. But he got over it… and I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.”

Pride swelled in his chest at the fact that Dean trusted him enough with all this personal information. “If you don’t feel comfortable you don-”

“No see that’s the thing,” Dean said, stopping to face Cas. “I don’t know what it is about you, but I trust you. Is that crazy?”

Cas was about to open his mouth to answer but then he heard his name being called out.

“Cas!” The voice repeated. “Hey!”

Castiel turned and saw a glint of red hair in the sun and saw his cousin, Anna, run up to him a wrapped her arms around him, almost suffocating him in her light pink snood.

“Oh, hey Anna,” he replied, hugging her back. “Dean, this is my cousin, Anna, and Anna this is-”

“Dean Winchester,” she finished for Cas, “I know who you are. Pretty much the whole town knows who you are now.”

Dean cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

She looked between the two of them with a knowing smirk. “I heard about you two, but I thought they were all just rumors.” She saw how close the two of them were standing. “So you guys _are_ dating? The town’s goody two shoes with the town's bad boy? Sounds like the plot of a cheap romance novel.”

Dean choked in surprise and Cas felt the blood rise up to his ears. “Oh, no. We’re not… he’s not… I-I’m not… no. Not together.”

“Yet.” Dean said, sending Cas a wink. He hit Dean on the arm.

Anna only raised her eyebrow but didn’t comment. “But you guys _have_ kissed right?”

“No- well, yes, but we were drunk.” Cas replied and he could see Dean in his peripheral vision frown a little. Anna noticed and decided that it was time to make her leave.

“Right… well, see you at the Winter dance, anyways…” she smiled at the both of them. Castiel almost forgot about the Winter dance and was contemplating whether or not to invite Dean as his plus one.

When she was gone, Dean and Cas continued to walk. Cas could feel a heavy sense of tension hang over them like a heavy blanket and he found himself looking anywhere but in Dean’s direction until Dean couldn’t handle the silence anymore.

“Drunk kiss, huh?” Dean asked.

“That’s what it was, wasn’t it? You just kissed me because you were drunk.”

Dean gave a dry laugh. “Is that what you think it was?”

“Well… what else would it be?”

“I wasn’t drunk, Cas. Tipsy, maybe, but not drunk. I knew what I was doing.”

Castiel let that new information sink in. “So… you _wanted_ to kiss me?” They rounded a corner and the grocery store was in sight, they just needed to cross the road. 

“Is it really hard to believe, Cas?”

He nodded and stole a glance at Dean to find that he was already looking at Cas. “Honestly, it really is hard to believe,” he whispered. “I mean, look at you! It’s hard to think that someone like you wanted to kiss someone like, well… _me_.”

“Well, I did want to kiss you. Honestly, I still do now.”

Dean’s eyes were so green. They held promise and his heart skipped a beat at how Dean didn’t even hesitated in saying that. He sounded so sure, Cas wanted to kiss him right then too. But it wasn’t right. Sure, he was being nice now and was sharing a lot with Cas, but could Cas fully trust him? He still did a lot of bad that was kind of hard to forget and Cas did understand that Dean was trying to make up for it, but it was going to take time. Cas hoped Dean understood that.

“Right,” Dean said once they entered the store, “do you have a shopping list?”

 

…

 

**_~Sam~_ **

Sam arrived at the small isolated town at around five in the evening. The snow there was incredible, but it wasn’t cold as he had been expecting. It fathomed Sam how Dean had actually taken a liking to this place. The cinema was showing movies that had been released two months ago. There was a cozy and homey feel to it though, so maybe that was it.

Dean had told him that everything would be in walking distance, so Sam told the taxi to just drop him off in the town square. The place did look like a winter wonderland with the sun just setting, making all the snow seem to sparkle. Sam was looking forward to Christmas. More curious than anything. Just last month, Dean was laughing at how angry Castiel got when he found out that Dean’s ‘friends’ had TP’d his house and how much Dean loved getting a rise out of Cas.

Sam entered a nearby candy store, out of mere curiosity and saw that they sold his favorite candy, gay bacon. Or as he called it ‘rainbow belts’.

“You must be Sam, Dean’s brother,” a voice said from behind the counter and Sam almost blanched. He hadn’t seen the short 5’8 -where as Sam stood a good 6’4-man behind the counter, who was looking at him with his eyebrow raised and an amused expression on his face.

“How did you know?” Sam asked, suddenly getting defensive.

“Calm down, giant,” the man smirked, “word has been going around that Dean has a brainy brother from Sanford coming in for Christmas. Sanford badge on your suitcase, big boy. This is a small town. People talk. 

Sam slowly nodded. “So I’ve heard.”

“Gabriel Novak,” the short man said, holding out his hand for Sam to shake and for some reason the last name seemed familiar. He winked at Sam. “You’re more handsome than I anticipated. So, young Winchester. What can I do for you today?”

Sam ignored the ‘handsome’ comment and pointed at the Rainbow Belts. “A packet of those, please.”

“Sweet tooth, I see,” Gabriel joked, reaching for the packet. “On the house.”

“Are you sure? I-”

Gabriel waved a hand in dismissal. “It’s fine. I will definitely be looking forward to seeing you again next Friday, handsome.”

“What do you mean?” Sam asked.

“Oh, my bad. I’m Castiel’s older brother. He told me you’ll be coming over for Christmas dinner and that you’re staying till new year’s.”

“Oh,” Sam said. “That makes sense. Well, I’ll be seeing you then, Gabriel.”

“Please,” the shorter man said, flirtatiously, “call me Gabe. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Sam took a moment to consider the shorter man. He had dirty blonde hair with eyes the color of the sun filtering through an old glass of whiskey. He hummed in response, but personally it was a noise of approval. The shorter man was pretty attractive, but Sam wasn’t so sure. 

“Good night!” Sam yelled out before he left, hearing Gabriel’s faint reply.


	6. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment me what you think about this chapter. I would love to hear your thoughts!
> 
> Anyways please enjoy this chapter. It was really fun writing it X3

**_Chapter 5_ **

 

**_Two more days_ **

Cas was at the point of panic. It was two more days ‘til Christmas and Cas hadn’t got _anyone_ presents. So he was walking in the nearest mall, which was a half an hour drive and was looking around the whole place. He already got Gabriel a gift, which was just a bunch of candy put into one basket. For Michael, he bought him a Rolex -which was very expensive. Castiel really hoped that Michael was happy with his his gift, otherwise he would whoop his ass. And for Lucifer, he got him a custom pocket knife that he prayed to God he wouldn't use to hurt anyone.

But then there was the matter of getting Dean something. What was he supposed to give Dean? It's not exactly like they're a couple but it's not like they're exactly only friends… and what the hell was Cas supposed to do with that? Then there was Sam, Dean's brother. He barely even met the guy. Just saw him once when Dean was being a douche and Cas had to go over there. 

Castiel’s thoughts got interrupted by the ring of his phone. “Hello?” he answered.

“Hey, Cassie,” Gabriel replied, “They need a few extra hands here for the Winter dance and we were wondering if you were busy?”

Cas sighed. “I’ll be there soon.”

“Oh! And bring _lots_ of PVA glue, too.”

“Got it,” Cas grimaced.

Well, so much for finding a present. Cas guessed he just had to go the next day to find Dean something. A month ago, if someone told him he’d be sharing Christmas with Dean Winchester, he didn’t know whether to laugh or tell that person to get screwed. All the explicit dreams he’d been frequently having was new to him, but didn’t exactly mean he didn’t like them. Maybe it was that Cas was waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Dean to finally turn to the douche he usually was. And maybe that was all that Cas was afraid of.

So, Cas gave up on trying to find Dean something… until he hit the last shop closest to the carpark, then he saw it. It was the perfect gift. It had Dean written all over it… well, not literally, but it was so… _Dean_. It was a small model of Dean beloved Chevy Impala, same year and everything. Cas stood there, stunned. It was as if the car was _made_ for Cas to get. So he rushed in there, only that car in mind, reached for it, then his hand clashed with another.

Cas’ head snapped up to the strangers, and he froze. It was the man that he saw on Dean’s couch. Now that he was closer, he could see little strands of brown in the blonde of his hair and flecks of gold in the hazel of his eyes. Even though the man was stupidly attractive, when he saw him, all Cas saw was Dean, fucking the man roughly from behind and the memory made Cas bite his lip. The man saw and got the wrong message.

“I remember you,” he said, with a wolfish grin.

“Y-you do?” Cas stuttered stupidly.

“Yeah, at Dean Winchester’s place. You knocked on the door with all those bottles and cans in your hand and I was on the couch na-”

“Oh!” Cas interrupted, laughing awkwardly, “yes, I _do_ remember.”

“Y’know, you’re really hot when you’re angry.”

“Uh, thanks?”

He pointed to the car. “You have a nice taste in cars…” he waited, looking at Cas expectantly. Then he realized, he didn’t know Cas’ name.

“Castiel. Castiel Novak. And the car isn’t for me. A gift for Dean,” he offered.

“Castiel. Unique name. I’m Jack Allans,” they shook hands. “So you two are a… thing?”

“Wha- Why does everyone think that? No, we’re not a _thing._ ”

“Good,” Jack said. “Then I can give you this.”

Confused, Cas watched as the man drew and old receipt from his pocket and saw him scribble something on the back of it before handing it to Cas, sending him a wink. In linked writing, there were numbers then beneath it, the name _Jack._

“Thanks? I think?” Cas said, not really knowing how to act in this certain position. Things like this only happened to people in movies! It wasn’t supposed to happen to him.

“I’ll let you have this,” he gestured towards the model, “if you drop me a text sometime.”

It was as if Cas was on autopilot and the rest of his body felt numb. Maybe it was because this had never happened to him before in his life and now all of a sudden, these two guys pop into Cas’ life. Cas took the number anyways, but in his gut he felt like he was somehow cheating Dean. Dean was trying to make things up to Cas, wasn’t he?

Thankfully, Jack left without further fuss, but when he left, Cas felt like a steel grip was released and he could actually breath evenly again. He bought the model, with both Jack and Dean on his mind. Why did he feel so… _guilty?_ Not in buying Dean the gift, if anything he felt good buying that for Dean, but for accepting Jack’s number. He was overreacting, wasn’t he? He just needed to get his mind off of Dean and off of Jack and go to that stupid decorating thingy.

So, that’s exactly what he did, driving that half an hour back to the small town he had grown up in. He made sure that the model was safe because the salesperson _did_ say that it was fragile. He knew that Dean would like it.

Cas arrived at the town hall as fast as he could and saw that everyone was busy and bodies were moving so fast, they almost all blurred together. It was a mission to find Gabriel, but he eventually did, finding him painting a giant cardboard full moon. It seemed like they didn’t really need Cas as he saw that there was nothing that was really needed to be done.

“Gabriel,” Cas said once he reached his brother, “why did you even need me here? There are already a lot of people and you know me, I’ll just get in everyone's way.”

Gabriel placed his paintbrush down and sighed. “Well, first off, little ray of _sunshine_ , you need to help Dean decorate the Christmas tree that will be in the middle of the town square, so make it freaking fabulous. And secondly, did you bring the glue I asked?”

Cas puffed out a breath of anger. “Of course I brought the freaking glue Gabriel! Now where is the tree?”

Gabriel smirked and pointed to a huge and white plastic Christmas tree that was completely bare and next to it, he saw a very handsome- but rugged looking- Dean Winchester bent over a big box filled of tinsel and decorations.

“Have fun!” Gabriel called out to Cas as he made his way towards the fake white tree. “Oh, and make sure it looks wintery!”

Ignoring Gabriel, he reached Dean within a matter of seconds and Cas could hear his silently cursing something about santa and elves. 

Cas cleared his throat. “Need some help?”

Dean jumped in surprise and almost knocked down the box of decorations. When he straightened himself up, he turned towards Cas with a boyish grin on his face.

“Hey, Cas,” he greeted, his voice gruff and low, the way Cas liked. “So you got pulled into this too?”

Cas shrugged and chuckled awkwardly, the number in his pocket suddenly became very heavy as he remembered Jack. “I guess you could say that. So, boss, what are we doing exactly?”

“I was told I had to decorate this huge ass tree. But then you came around!”

“Well,” Cas said, hoping he’d get his mind off of things, “let’s start decorating!”

Decorating really was underestimated… or everyone else just made it look easier than it actually was. The tree was ten feet tall and was a nice and pure white. They had to use a ladder to put the big neon blue star on the top and at first Dean and Cas worked in a comfortable silence as they wrapped the blue and white tinsel around the tree… but then came the choice of picking the Christmas balls. Dean wanted the green because apparently “there was too much blue and white and needed a bit of color” whereas Cas argued that they should keep the rest blue.

“Cas,” Dean started, anger starting to inch into his voice, “I’m telling you! This freaking tree needs more color!”

“No, _Dean_!” Cas spat back, trying to keep his temper even, “that his horrible color coordination! The blue ones will look nice and more winter-ey!”

“But green is more like Christmas! Y’know not everyone in the world celebrates Christmas during winter time, right?”

“I _know_ that, Dean, but this town does. This isn’t about the _rest of the freaking world_. The blue balls!”

“ _Green_ balls,” Dean retorted back, taking a step closer to Cas.

“ _Blue_ balls,” Cas replied, feeling brave and taking a step closer to Dean, closing the gap between them. Cas could feel the heat radiating off of Dean and his smell of old spice made Cas’ mouth water and stomach churn with an unbearable _need._

“Say that again,” Dean whispered, and Cas didn’t understand why they were whispering. Everyone had gone outside to hang up the other decorations.

“What?” Cas asked, “Blue balls?”

Dean snickered. That was when Cas realized what he was saying.

“Real freaking mature, Winchester,” Cas said turning to carry on with the tree, but then a strong hand clamped around his wrist and Cas found himself being turned into Dean’s arms until he was still and looking into Dean’s deep green eyes. He felt that foreign tingle in the pit of his stomach he only got with Dean and the both of them just stood there, not saying _anything._ Each other's eyes roamed the other's face, and Cas couldn’t believe that he was lucky enough to be in that position. He knew what he wanted and he could tell that Dean knew what he wanted. Cas couldn’t help it. He needed to feel Dean’s soft lips on his again. 

So, he did the unthinkable. He pulled Dean down from the back of his neck and kissed his lips firmly. Dean responded almost immediately by turning and pushing Cas up against the nearest wall. Their lips were swollen and their tongues were clashing. Cas didn’t know at which point did Dean put his hands up Cas’ shirt, but frankly, Cas didn’t care. He loved how gentle Dean’s hand would run over his abdomen, until he light rubbed his hips bones with his thumbs and that was when Cas moaned against Dean’s lips -Dean taking that as an opportunity to lightly suck on Cas’ bottom lip- as Cas arched his body into Dean’s. There was hair pulling and hips moving and he didn’t know how long it took for Dean to slowly unzip Cas’ jacket but Cas thought it took him way too damn long.

“Can I?” Dean asked at Cas’ throat, kissing it lightly, still rocking his hips flush with Castiel's.

Cas didn’t care where they were, he was filled with the need for Dean so he nodded his head violently, ripping off his jacket and helping Dean out of his before they clashed their lips together once again. Cas was lost in time. His head was swirling with so much new found emotions he never even thought he was capable of having. These kind of feelings were only described in the novels he would read when he was alone on valentine's day. He loved how Dean would whisper his name over and over as they rutted their throbbing erections together, and at the time, all worries were wiped from Cas’ mind.

They really should of have been paying attention to their surroundings because as Dean was attacking Cas’ belt, Cas noticed a little kid standing in the doorway with a horrified expression on her face.

“Dean,” Cas said, his voice breathless, but still so filled with lust, “Dean stop.”

“What’s wrong?” Dean asked, his face genuinely worried.

Cas only glanced at the little girl who had at that point started to tear up.

“ _Moooommyyyyy!_ ” The little girl cried, running out to the square just outside the town hall.

“Crap,” Dean muttered. “Oh! And that reminds me… Do you have a date for tomorrow night?”

“How the hell did _that_ remind you?” Cas asked. “And, no, I don't have one. I don't usually go to those type of things.”

Dean ran his hands up and down Cas’ arm, sending a light shiver throughout his body. “Well,” he began, “how would you like to be my plus one?”

Cas had to be honest, he was slightly taken aback. Dean? Asking him to be his date? Cas felt like he was in a dream.

“Are you sure you want to be seen with me? Especially when the whole town thinks that we’re a couple… and everything…”

Cas looked up to find Dean already staring intimately into Cas’ eyes, and Cas had to hold back his surprised gasp. Like this, he found it hard to believe that Dean _did_ mean what he was saying… and he didn't know which was scarier, Dean lying or telling the truth.

“Why do you do that?” Dean asked.

Cas frowned. “Do what?”

“Always putting yourself down! If only I could make you see how much of an amazing person you actually are.”

Cas let out a breathy chuckle. “Because if someone else puts me down, I won't be hurt as much since I already tell myself that.” He shrugged like it was nothing.

“Don't know if that's positive or negative thinking. But when you're with me, I'll take care of you.”

At that moment in time, Cas fathomed how someone could be so perfect. And it scared Cas. He was starting to let his guard down around Dean and he was actually starting to let Dean in, but Cas still wasn’t sure if he could fully trust Dean. Cas guessed it was because he was waiting for Dean to turn around and crush his heart like he had to so many others.

“So, it’s settled,” Dean said, “pick you up tomorrow night.”

“You’d better not be late, then,” Cas said, smiling up at Dean, and he was pretty sure that Dean could read how he felt all over his face, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care when it came to Dean. “We are neighbors after all.”

The smile Dean sent Cas after that was one of complete adoration, and Cas’ chest squeezed a little at the gleam in Dean’s eyes.


	7. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I am so sorry for the long wait! I have been so busy with work, but I tried to write a longer chapter this time. _Please follow me on Tumblr so you can have details about when I'm updating and some new ideas for future books!: @moanawalker._ Please enjoy this chapter! Thank you for reading!**

**chapter 6**

 

“Are you sure this doesn’t look a bit… much?” Cas asked his brother, Gabriel. He was tugging self consciously on the hem of his white tux that Gabriel had to practically force him into. It was paired with a deep blue tie that even Cas thought brought out his eyes just a little.

“Hellz no!” Gabriel said, fixing his own blood red tie and black suit. “You’ll have him pawing at your pants by the end of the night.”

You could say that this dance was a pretty big deal for their small town. People would always dress in really expensive dresses and shirts, and Cas would never admit this to anyone, but he sometimes feels like straight out of an old movie whenever he _did _go to the dance, which wasn’t very often.__

__“Why are you going anyways?” Cas asked, slapping Gabriel's hands away from his hair as Gabriel said he had to style it in some way. “Last time I checked, you hated going to these kinds of things too.”_ _

__Gabriel shrugged. “I was hoping I’d catch Dean’s younger brother.”_ _

__Cas had put his hair up in a tamed messy look that Gabriel had mentioned looked like ‘sex hair’. _Good_ , he thought when he heard that, he wanted to tease Dean that night. He wanted to look casual yet sexy and wanted to make sure Dean would be begging to touch him by the end of the night._ _

___Crap_ , Cas thought, _Where did all that come from?__ _

__Cas could clearly see that Dean had awoken a side of him that he didn’t even know existed. It was new and it was exciting… but at the same time, it was frightening. What if, after everything, Dean would notice that Cas really was just a boring person, Cas wouldn’t know how to deal._ _

___Stop it,_ he scolded himself, _we aren’t even a couple.__ _

__There was a knock at the door that broke Cas free from his thoughts._ _

__“I’ll get it,” he told Gabriel once he finished tying up his laces on his dress shoes._ _

__Cas had a feeling he knew who it was before he even opened the door, but he didn’t want to get his hopes up. He drew in a breath before he opened the door and sure enough, a handsome looking Dean Winchester was standing on the other side._ _

__Cas’ breath hitched in his throat as he let the image of Dean sink in. He was wearing a nice fitting tux, left opened to show the vest underneath that was hugging him in all the right places. He had a black bowtie around his neck and his hair was styled up. Dean had made sure to leave a little stubble so he wasn’t completely clean. Cas was then afraid that it would be _himself_ begging to touch Dean by the end of the night._ _

__What he didn’t realize, was that Dean was also raking Cas’ body up and down with his eyes, and Cas could feel himself blush at the astounded look on Dean’s face. His mouth was slightly agape and his eyes couldn’t stop roaming Cas’ body._ _

__“Wow,” he heard Dean whisper. “Cas… you look…” Dean seemed at a loss of words._ _

__“I know. It’s too much, isn’t it?” Cas said, having a sinking feeling in his gut. “I’ll go change, just give me five minutes.”_ _

__Turning to leave, Cas felt like he could finally breath, that was until he felt a firm hand grip his wrist and he felt himself being spun back to face Dean and Cas gasped at the sudden close proximity of Dean._ _

__“No,” Dean whispered, “you’re perfect. Don’t change.”_ _

__He only stared at Dean with wide eyes and bit his bottom lip thinking of all the things he wanted to do to Dean right then. Cas guessed Dean was doing the same thing because Dean cleared his throat and crossed his hands in front of his crotch area_ _

__“Should we get going?” Dean asked._ _

__Cas was about to answer when he heard Gabriel running up from behind him. “Is your brother going?” Gabe asked Dean._ _

__“Oh, yeah!” Dean replied. “I almost forgot! Sam asked me to ask you if you wanted to go there with him.”_ _

__Gabe smirked. “You mean as a date?”_ _

__“Sure. He’s just getting ready and he said he’ll pick you up from here. Just so you know… he’s single.”_ _

__Gabe’s face light up and blood rushed to his cheeks. Castiel watched the whole scene in front of him with mild amusement. From what Cas had heard about Sam, Cas could tell that he was a good man. Cas was worried that Gabe would break his heart like he has many times with previous people._ _

__“I-I don’t know why I’d need to know that,” Gabriel stuttered, combing his hair back with his fingers and pulling on the lapels of his suit jacket. “Anyways, I’ll see you guys there!”_ _

__With that being said, Dean and Cas made their way down to the foot path in silence. Cas was excited, he couldn’t stop twitching his fingers. It had been a while since he had done anything like this, and of all people, he would never imagine it being with Dean. Cas cast a side glance at Dean who was obviously deep in thought, with his bottom lip in a slight pout and his brows furrowed a little. Cas found it extremely adorable and he didn’t realize he was staring. So he forced himself to look away from the attractive man and tried to concentrate on not slipping on the frost covered sidewalk._ _

__“You really do look amazing,” Dean whispered from out of the blue._ _

__Cas couldn’t let Dean see him blush, although he highly doubted that he would be able to see him through the dark-the only light coming from the old street lamps- but he looked down at his feet anyhow._ _

__“Thanks. Not too bad yourself, Dean,” Cas replied, still looking at the ground._ _

__What was wrong with him? He felt so giddy inside, he thanked God that Dean couldn’t read his mind. He felt like a teenage girl going to prom with her crush. This wasn’t how Cas usually acted, especially towards Dean, who just last month had Cas on the edge of a stroke from how much he stressed him out. But, how is it possible that someone was able to change so much? Was this all a facade Dean was putting up? Was he forcing himself to be civil towards Cas? The mere thought of the possibility that this was all for a show made Cas’ chest squeeze in pain._ _

__It was as if Dean could sense his doubts because suddenly Dean slid his fingers between Cas’ as if it were completely natural and gave them a little squeeze in reassurance. Dean’s mere presence stirred feeling from deep within him. They were mixed and they were all over the place._ _

__Images from that drunken night flashed through Cas’ mind then the realization hit. Dean wasn’t drunk. He wasn’t drunk which meant he was completely aware of his actions. The way Dean would take Cas’ bottom lip between his teeth and lightly tug. His desperate hands that were running over his body the day before. The low whispers of appreciation Dean would whisper into Cas’ ear as their bodies rocked together causing amazing friction down…_ _

__Cas shook the images from his mind and he was pretty sure his face was bright red. Dean noticed._ _

__“Are you okay? What are you nervous about?” Dean asked followed by one of his sexy low chuckles. _Why does Dean have to laugh that way?!_ Cas thought. The thought of the things Dean could say with that erotic voice made Cas’ knees wobble._ _

__“So, you go to this dance a lot?” Dean asked, starting a conversation. Cas silently thanked him. He wasn’t the best at initiating conversation._ _

__“Nah,” Cas replied, looking at the other couples speed walking in their expensive gowns and suits in the direction of the town square. “I haven’t been to one of these dancing in around… five years?”_ _

__Dean looked flabbergasted. “Why not?”_ _

__Shrugging, Cas looked down at their intertwined fingers. “I never really had anyone to go with. These kind of events are quite boring when you’re alone so I usually just stayed at home.”_ _

__“Naw,” Dean bumped their shoulders together, “I find that extremely hard to believe, Novak.”_ _

__“Is that so? Well, what about you, Winchester? Why did you choose to take me out of all those pretty people I always see leave your house?”_ _

__Castiel thought that maybe he took things a little too far since he knew Dean was trying his best to be a better person, but Dean just smirked._ _

__“Would you believe me if I said that I wanted _you?_ Instead of all those other fake people.”_ _

__“Yes, I find that really hard to believe,” Cas said, but despite that, he couldn’t stop himself from grinning like an idiot. _This is what you do to me, Dean Winchester.__ _

__Their pace slowed as Dean leaned his head down to whisper into Cas’ ear. “Well, believe it, the sunshine.”_ _

__The nickname Dean gave Cas enough to give him a cardiac arrest but after those words, Dean pressed his lips softly on Cas’ cheek, letting them linger there for a while before he took a step back to gaze into Cas’ eyes. Castiel thought he would just die on the spot._ _

__Castiel melted on the spot._ _

__Sometime later, they made it to the Town Square, the Christmas Tree he and Dean worked on was on full display. Cas felt a swell of emotion bubble to his chest and made his stomach flutter with butterflies. They worked on that _together.__ _

__Looking at the tree made Cas’ mind wander to the night before… yet again. The way Dean threw Castiel up against the wall and ground onto his erection made him shiver with excitement. He wondered how far they would’ve gone if that little girl hadn’t interrupted. The thought made Cas’ pants tighten. He had to readjust his underwear._ _

__Though it was dark, Cas could see Dean looking up at the tree with the same mesmerized expression as he. Cas hoped that it was as important to Dean as it was to him._ _

__“Doesn’t look half bad, huh?” Dean said, looking down at Cas, the blue lights from the tree illuminating his face. “We did a pretty good job. You were right to go with the blue balls.” He snickered._ _

__Cas nudged Dean with his elbow. “I told you.”_ _

__Something sparked in Dean’s eyes and he turned to completely face Cas. His hand cupped Cas’ cheek -on his face- and stared deeply into Cas’. Was he going to do this in public? Not that anyone else in the town opposed his sexuality, he still felt that doing these kinds of things in public may disgust people._ _

__Cas threw all his doubts out the window as he closed his eyes with Dean._ _

__“You guys are disgustingly adorable,” a voice grumbled behind them. Cas sighed, knowing full well who the voice belonged to._ _

__Castiel slowly turned to see Lucifer standing there, shoving chocolate macaroons into his mouth with one hand while he held a bunch more in the other. There was chocolate smudged across his cheek, but he didn’t seem to care. There was also a stain on his white tux. He slowly chewed while staring at the two._ _

__“What do you want, Luci?” Cas huffed in annoyance._ _

__“Oh, Gabe told me to get you. He’s with this really tall man. I haven’t seen him ‘round here before.” He stuffed another macaroon in his mouth. “You guys should really try the macaroons. Jo really knows how to make amazing macaroons. These are some good macaroons.” He looked longingly at the sweets in his hands._ _

__“Let’s go, Dean,” Cas said, and stomped away from his brother. They were obviously having a moment and then Lucifer comes around and starts talking about macaroons! _Macaroons!_ Dean snickered behind him._ _

__Soon enough, they found Gabriel and who Cas assumed was Sam. Sam was laughing at Gabe who had a sour face after trying some of Missouri’s sour lemon tarts. And they were sour. The both of them had a gleam in their eyes that Cas was too familiar with._ _

__“Hey, guys,” Dean greeted the pair as they neared._ _

__“Hi, Dean! Oh, Cas! This is Sam. Sam, Castiel,” Gabe rushed, pushing Sam forward._ _

__Sam gave Dean a knowing look before turning his full attention to Castiel. “Nice to meet you officially, Castiel. I’m Sam Winchester. I would like to thank you for inviting me to your house for Christmas. I sincerely hope it isn’t a burden on you and your family.”_ _

__Somewhere behind Cas, Dean scoffed and he could practically feel Dean rolling his eyes. Castiel turned to Dean, completely flabbergasted and eyes wide. “Why can’t you be that charming?!”_ _

__Dean pulled a pout. “I’m charming.”_ _

__“Sure you are, pretty boy,” Cas grinned, “Oh, let’s go! It’s starting!”_ _

__Everyone crowded around the makeshift stage and the town’s Sheriff, Jody Mills, was there in her gorgeous white gown, to officially open the ceremony._ _

__“Good Evening people of Silvervale and welcome to the 100th anniversary of the annual Christmas Winter Dance!” Everybody cheered followed by some hooting by Lucifer. “I won’t take too long up here. But first, I want to compliment everyone on the effort you all put in how you look tonight. I feel like we’re something from out of a movie. Even Ol’ Bobby Singer put in some effort. So without further ado… I officially open tonight’s ceremony!”_ _

___Surrender,_ by _Cheap Trick_ , rang out from the speakers and people immediately started dancing with their partners._ _

__“I’ll go get us drinks,” Dean said, sending Cas a light smile._ _

__Cas smiled back. He felt so content, it was scary. He knew this much good luck wouldn’t come without consequence, but he tried to not dwell on it too much. Cas knew he should just live in the moment._ _

__It was extremely hard to believe that this wasn’t a dream. Castiel had spent so much time and energy convincing himself that Dean was this horrible person, but then out of nowhere, this new Dean comes into light and in just under one month, turns Castiel’s world completely upside down. He liked this new Dean, and he hoped that this was the _real_ Dean. _ _

__“Boo,” someone whispered in Cas’ ear, causing him to slightly jump._ _

__Turning around, Cas sees the last person he would ever expect. Jack._ _

__“Jack? What are you doing here?” he asked, starting to feel a little nervous._ _

__“Well, I heard about this annual dance thing and hoped I’d find you here. Guess I was right,” he flung an arm around Cas’ shoulder. Cas prayed that Dean would hurry up with the damn drinks so that he had an excuse to leave Jack alone._ _

__Thankfully, Dean returned shortly, but with a frown on his face as he saw Jack’s arm around Cas. He saw Cas’ uncomfortable expression. He came closer to the two until he was right beside Cas, then he placed a firm kiss on Cas’ cheek and handed him his drink._ _

__“There you go, Sunshine. Lemon and Lime bitters. Your favorite,” he said with a smile, then faked surprise as he noticed Jack. “Oh, Jack! Long time no see.”_ _

__“I’m so sorry about that, Deany Baby,” he removed his arm from Cas’ shoulders. “I’ve been busy lately. I’m so sorry to hear about your uncle, by the way. My condolences.”_ _

__Cas felt Dean tense next to him._ _

__“Anyway,” Jack continued. “Castiel over here told me the other day that you two weren’t a… _thing_.”_ _

__Dean visibly winced, but Cas had enough of this prick’s lack of consideration. Dean opened his mouth to reply but Cas beat him to it._ _

__“You know what, _you prick?_ ” Cas said, stepping towards Jack in a predatory manner, “things change. So, yes. We are a couple. In fact, we’re engaged.” The song in the speakers changed to _Love Me Tender_ and Cas grabbed Dean’s hand. “Come on, darling. This is our wedding song, remember?”_ _

__Jack’s mouth fell open as they walked past him, but not before Dean said:_ _

__“And Cas is pregnant too!”_ _

__Then they walked towards the dance floor, hand in hand, and sniggering between each other at the lost, priceless expression on Jack’s face._ _

__“That was so hot,” Dean whispered to Cas._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **_I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Again, please follow me on Tumblr so you have news on my updates or if there's a reason I can't update, you'll all be informed. Thank you for taking the time to read this!_ **


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